No Cash For You.

Facing A Public Outcry ...... and a pesky little grand jury probe, state House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene,
told Democratic lawmakers and employees on Friday that he's spiking controversial bonus payments for legislative staffers.As more astute readers will recall, the House and Senate paid $3.6 million in bonuses to staffers during the 2005-2006 legislative session. House Dems accounted for much of that spending, the Tribune-Review reported in a story published Saturday.Since the bonus payments became public in January, Senate Republicans announced they'd be stopping the practice. DeWeese suspended the bonuses in February, the Trib' reported.State Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican, is investigating the bonuses in an effort to determine whether the payments were made in exchange for political work. A statewide grand jury began meeting in April.DeWeese has defended the bonuses as consistent with "best practice" policies in the private sector. The one-time payments (some of which rang up to a jaw-dropping 29 percent of base pay) were a useful management tool that boosted job performance.But he has also acknowledged that "awarding bonuses who may
have also participated in political campaigns risks the perception that
the bonuses were paid -- at least in part -- for campaign activity,"
DeWeese said. "This perception, although wrong, also threatens to
undermine public confidence in the [Democratic] caucus."House Democrats' bonuses went from $435,000 in 2005 to roughly $1.9 million in 2006, which was an election year. Earlier this year, Corbett said that amount was "enough to raise your eyebrows."The rest of today's news starts after the jump.

Pennies From Heaven Dept.Pennsylvania is one of 40 states that has found itself with a higher-than-expected budget
surplus this year, the New York Times reports this morning. And legislators and governors barely know what to do with themselves.Governors in 23 of
those states proposed tax cuts, and a majority of states with surpluses
chose to shore up their roads, schools and rainy day funds. In Utah, where we didn't even know they had cars, let alone roads, officials agreed to use a $1 billion bond act to fix highways and add lanes. In Idaho, where even the people look like potatoes, state spending on education outpaced Medicaid spending for the first time in 20 years.According to the Times, the extra cash in the last two budget sessions (many states work on a two-year cycle) is at the highest level since 2000.“Because states cut back so in the early part of the decade,” said RayScheppach, the executive director of the National Governors Association, “they put off maintenance, they put off building, things like that, so they are beginning to do some one-time spending.”

Well, That's Gonna Leave A Mark.Philly Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky steps up this morning, takes a big swing, and
connects squarely with the backside of state Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia.Somehow managing to include both a lesson in Yiddish (Cohen is a "goniff," Bykofsky explains) and the horrifying image of Cohen-as-Paris-Hilton, Bykofsky wastes little time chastising the Philly legislator for recent revelations about his continued habit of charging the taxpayers for his reading material, and for sticking them with a $2,000 tab for traveling to the annual Pennsylvania Society blow-out in New York City.When Cohen "brings home the bacon, mostly it goes on his plate. A Democrat
whose wildly gerrymandered district snakes through the Northeast and
into North Philly, Cohen lives high on the hog, using your money," Bykofsky tells readers, even as he wonders whether all "those big bucks [would] be better spent in the Keystone State. Do we no longer have a friend in Pennsylvania?"We don't even have a punchline for this one.That's mostly because Cohen's turned himself into one.50 Freshmen In 50 Days (Day Four):
In which we skip over to the Senate side of the Capitol. Meet state Sen. Lisa Baker.
Name: Lisa Baker
Age: 45Party: RepublicanHometown: Lehman, but grew up in Dallas (Luzerne County).
Real World Job Before You Joined The Legislature: Executive Director, The Blue Ribbon Foundation.Last Book Read: Marley and Me, John Grogan.
Phillies or Pirates: Phillies -- I'm a longstanding fan of Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.
Cheesesteak or Primanti Bros.: Cheesesteak -- NO ONIONS.
Yuengling or Iron City: Yuengling (occasionally and not when driving).If I Weren't A Politician, I'd Be: I've never considered myself a politician. I do answer to wife, mother, advocate and professional.What Makes You Angry: Those who question your integrity without having met or talked with you.What Makes You Sad: Innocent children who are victims of abuse, or deprived of the love they should have.The Edict of Nantes Settled This Medieval Controversy: Before being revoked, the edict provided religious and civil liberties to the Protestants in largely Catholic France.Night To Fall On Sine Die?The state Senate is expected to vote this week on a
constitutional amendment banning the biannual flurry of votes at the end of
each two-year, legislative session.The sessions take their name from a Latin phrase that means
"without day."Government reformer have long criticized the post-election
sessions, claiming they allow freshly re-elected, retiring and ousted lawmakers
to act on controversial measures free of the fear of having to face the
electorate.That lack of accountability also means that the sessions
have lent themselves to political mischief, including a bill passed last year
allowing casinos to serve - with some restrictions - free drinks to their
patrons.Other notorious sine die bills have included a dry run in
2004 on the legislation that eventually became the short-lived legislative pay
raise of 2005. The debate on that legislation was marked by an expletive-laden,
closed-door confrontation between Gov. Ed and former Senate President
Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer.Other sine die bills have included the so-called
"stealth" stadium funding bill of 1998, and a 2002 takeover of the
Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.Sen. Robert Regola, the Westmoreland County Republican who
is sponsoring the constitutional change, said those incidents and others prove
the need to scrap the sine die votes."We really need to clean it up," said Regola.
"If someone's been thrown out of office, then they shouldn't be making
those kinds of votes."Regola's bill would ban legislative sessions from being held
in November during even-numbered years, which is when voters elect the
governor, the entire 203-member House and half the 50-member Senate.

A Million Here, A Million There Dept.Rep. Glenn Grell, R-Cumberland, is expected to recommend an 8 percent reduction in the
cost of running the General Assembly to the Speaker's Commission on Legislative Reform, the Tribune-Review reports this morning.Grell, of Mechanicsburg [bonus trivia point: the borough is home to 80s glam-metal rockers Poison], says he'll propose trimming the Legislature's budget from $316 million to a bone-thin $290 million, which would force lawmakers to go without ... well ... we're not sure what it would force them to go without.Maybe no more free sandwiches?The reform commission is expected to vote today on whether to recommend term limits, open records proposals and a campaign finance overhaul to the full House. And Grell said he'd seek further cuts in 2008.

If It's Spring ...
... it must be time for the obligatory story about how the Capitol is
crawling with people looking for money in this year's state budget.
Our thanks go out to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg this morning for taking one for the team and penning this year's iteration.

In A Turn Of Events ...... that may cause some Bucks County Republicans to actually have seizures, we
bring news that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was likely behind a provision in the Iraq funding bill that preserved about $1 million for the GOP-dominated county to replace its voting machines.Bucks was the only county in Pennsylvania to
miss the federal deadline for ditching its obsolete lever machines in
favor of electronic voting systems last year. New York state, which is
also still using lever machines, risked losing $50 million, the Bucks County Courier Times reports this morning.Clinton was likely behind the measure in the funding bill that extended the deadline by two years. In an odd display of gratitude, county CEO Dave Sanko told the BCT that the county was never worried about missing out on the
dollars. In fact, he said, the county saved taxpayers $1 million by
buying reconditioned electronic machines.

In Case You Were Wondering Why ...... your kitchen table seemingly moved a few inches to the left overnight, wonder no more. We
have an explanation.Seems U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, is the recipient of something called the "Moving America Forward Award," from an outfit called Americans United for Change.What did young Altmire do to deserve such an honor, you ask?The foundation recognized the Beaver County Democrat for his "leadership and courage," by voting with a few hundred other congressional Democrats to increase the minimum wage and to fund an increase to veterans' healthcare.But since the corpse of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-Frigidaire, is barely cold, we're going to assume the bit honoring Altmire for his support for "sweeping ethics reform," was meant to be ironic.

For Those Of You ...... who keep track of such things, the state Democratic Party has a brand, spanking-new Web site it would like to tell you about. The new page replaces the old Demos Web site, which was last updated (as far as we can tell) around the dawning of the Johnson administration.Thankfully, the press release that landed in our in-box this morning was largely free of emoticons and text message abbreviations, though we have to admit we were a little confused by state Chairman T.J. Rooney's request to "Friend" us.EdWatch (TM):Gov. Ed takes it easy on us today. No public schedule.In The Blogosphere:Keystone Politics on how Hillary is raising a ton of cash in SEPA; GrassrootsPA on a possible for primary challenger for Sen. Jim Rhoades; Above Average Jane asks "What's A Mandate?"; Young Philly Politics on the Rendell healthcare plan; Tony Phyrillas would like school property taxes eliminated now, please; 2 Political Junkies on Powell on Gitmo; Perry Christopher on Lou Barletta talking about immigration -- again; Gort takes a whack at Paris Hilton; Bernie O'Hare on Mike Morrill talking trash; PSoTD on the prospect of an elementary school being named after the Current Occupant; Suburban Guerrilla has a Quote of the Day; PAWatercooler on Bill Cosby; Daily Kos claims the GOP is losing its grip on rural America; Red State on how one vote can make a difference; DCist has our Picture of the Day (TM); Wonkette has your daily briefing; Andrew Sullivan on the 9/12 candidate, and Tim Long on kids' questions for the POTUS.On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning.Way back in 1997, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha put out a record called "Let It Come Down," that was filled with sunshiney melodies, jangly guitars and hooks a mile deep. No one, outside of us, and Iha's family (apparently) bought it. And we have always considered that one of the music world's great tragedies. Here's a clip for the record's lead track, "Be Strong Now." See if you aren't humming along by the end.

Monday's Gratuitous Soccer Link.Unless you've been trapped under a rock for the last couple of months, you've no doubt heard by now that David Beckham, THE BIGGEST SOCCER STAR IN THE UNIVERSE (TM), will start playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer next month.When the move was announced earlier this year, it seemed that Beckham's current masters at Spanish team Real Madrid were only too happy to let him go. He'd been dropped from the English national team, was riding the pine at Real, and appeared headed for the sunset of his career. So no big loss, right?Well, wrong. Beckham's experienced a late-season surge. He's helped lead Real to a likely La Liga championship. And he had a brilliant run during Euro 2008 qualifiers last week. That's led the folks at Real to rethink their decision to let him bolt and they've offered Becksnew contract terms.His answer, according to the Guardian, is no gracias. So he's off to L.A.

Current Comments

Wow John, like everyday the MCall has a different picture of you. Were you on a photo shoot with like Anna Kournikova or some hot babe? Today they put you on the bottom of page B1! Oh I get it, it's like Where's Waldo. but in your case it's "Where's Micek?!"

Posted By: Chris Casey | Jun 11, 2007 12:38:46 PM

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